Past The Cut
Monday, February 5th, 2024 11:54 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
snoozefestaudio |
36F and cloudy this morning.
8 of Spades week begins today, so we're past the halfway point of winter.
And that's good because last night, while I was out here, the fuse for the back room blew!
I went down in the basement to change it, and it was hot to the touch!
Before I changed it, I made sure everything back here was off... and after I put in the new fuse, I left everything off overnight.
I'm guessing it was the space heater.
Now I'm praying that none of the insulation around the wires has melted through and left exposed copper wire... somewhere in the walls or ceiling back here.
I mean, the power is back, which means there's not a dead short anywhere.
But I've got to get that gas wall heater working again!
Thank god it's warm enough now to leave the damn heater off when I'm not in the room.
And thank god nothing happened on those days I had to leave it running 24/7.
But perhaps the cold of the world itself kept the wires from overheating that week... I mean... it was at or below zero all week.
At any rate, I did unplug the heat wires for the bathroom pipes as well, this morning.
I don't need to be taxing any of these circuits more than is absolutely necessary.
I heard a spring bird out there today, on the walk.
And the weather app says it's gonna hit 60F on both Thursday and Friday.
And that IS crazy for this early in February, but I'll take it this year.
This house is actually a lot easier to keep cool in the summer than to keep warm in the depths of winter.
I think part of that is the crawl space... which is probably cooler than the outside air in the summer... versus winter, when it's exactly as cold as the outside.
If I can survive this foreclosure threat... and somehow get to a point where I can afford my life... some glorious day... I'll take care of all these issues.
But that day is waaaay off in the distance.
Well, the sign on the door worked!
A process server came to the door around 8PM and called me.
I told him I was at work but that the best time to find me at home is between 11AM & 2PM, and he said he'd come back tomorrow!
So hopefully I'll get the summons tomorrow.
Meanwhile, I searched my Gmail and found Stephany's email! So know I know her last name!
I think I'll send her an email tonight or tomorrow.
"Stephany,
Hello! I don't know if you will recall this, or if you take notes on such things, but my father, Michael D. Melody, and I came into the Lake street branch on Wednesday, May 18th 2022 to get help and clarification about a letter he'd received, regarding his HELOC with BMO.
He was an older man, in his 80s, thin with a little color left in his hair, and glasses. I was 52, with a beard, and probably wearing a green baseball cap.
At any rate, the letter he'd received said his HELOC (originated in 2013), would be reaching maturity soon, and that he should refinance to avoid a balloon payment.
We also met with you on Friday, May 19th, and again on Wednesday, May 24, of 2022, because you helped us with a few other things, such as making me a signatory on his checking account, and issuing me a debit card for that account.
You suggested we do a cashout refinance to pay off his credit card debt, and roll his two mortgages, one a conventional loan, and the other a HELOC, into a new loan.
And you connected us with Juan DeLaCruz, a CRA mortgage banker from AZ to help with the loan. But the loan fell through because my father's credit score was down in the 500s.
The reason I'm writing today is because at our last meeting on Wednesday, May 24th, 2022, you told us not to worry about the HELOC because when it reached maturity in June of 2023, that would only mean he could no longer draw funds from it.
And, according to my contemporaneous notes (a journal) you specifically told us that after June of 2023, he would have ten more years to pay off the HELOC.
And we were greatly relieved to hear it!
But unfortunately, my dad fell and broke his hip, only seven months later, in December of 2022... and then he passed away on January 17th of 2023.
I had been living with him, and inherited his house via a transfer on death deed, and am still living here now... and intend to stay here.
In the aftermath of my dad's death, because I was a signatory on his checking account, I was able to continue making both the main mortgage payment, and the HELOC payment every month, while dealing with all of the other issues.
But then in May of 2023, on the BMO web portal, it said the minimum payment for the HELOC was some thirteen thousand dollars... essentially the total payoff amount.
At first I thought this was a computer glitch, because even if I hit the button to make the payment, the web page would report an error saying that the payment amount was larger than the amount owed.
So I waited it out, to see if the glitch would resolve, but then got a pink slip in the mail, saying the entire amount indeed was due in full, and past due.
I called BMO, but they said they could not discuss the matter with me until I proved my parents were both deceased, and that I owned the house.
And this began a very slow moving process to try and get it resolved, which included me securing a home loan of my own to pay everything off.
But that loan was rejected at the last minute, just before Christmas 2023... on the grounds that the HELOC was past due.
And as of January 3rd, the HELOC is now in foreclosure.
So my question to you is simply, do you recall telling us that dad would have 10 more years to pay off the HELOC?
And if so, was that a mistake?.. or is it possible a mistake was made in the system, in May of 2023?
Also, if possible, I would like to get a copy of the original HELOC contract signed by my parents in 2013, because no copy of such, exists in the house.
Please let me know if you can help clear up the mystery, at your earliest convenience.
I have a consultation with a defense attorney on Friday, February 9th.
Thank you, and have a great week!
-Patrick Melody"
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